The coach asks, I answer. No fluff, just how we really handle it with clients :)
Coach: Tell me about a client who swore they ate almost nothing and still did not lose weight. What did tracking reveal?
Martin: "I barely eat and I'm still not losing." I hear it every week. Then we start tracking food intake more precisely. And we see they eat more than they thought. Usually it's not that the client lies, people without practice and know-how just don't see it: oil in the pan, "just a handful" of nuts, sweetened coffee with cream, a weekend that doesn't count as "almost nothing". Once you weigh and log 7 out of 7 days, the gap shows within a few days. I recently praised a client for logging even a day over her calories. People who leave something out, for example out of shame, often eat more calories than people who log precisely and go a bit over. Your body can't break the laws of physics. Weighing food, at least for a while, shows the truth your head doesn't see.
Coach: Why does a deficit that worked great in month one stop working, and what do you change?
Martin: At the same time, the precision of logging food/portions and your step count quietly slips... We look at measurements and photos.
Coach: How do you explain weight loss vs fat loss to a client in one minute?
Martin: Deficit = everything goes down (muscle and body shape too). Deficit + protein + lifting = mostly fat goes down (so you look firmer).
Coach: What protein myth do you hear most from clients, and where did they pick it up?
Martin: That your body can't absorb more protein at once, or that protein wrecks your kidneys. Mostly from the internet and from friends who "read it somewhere". Your body absorbs all of it, it just processes it slower. Also, the question shouldn't be how much protein your body absorbs, but how much more will actually increase muscle gains. That's at least 1.6 g per kg of bodyweight, and according to some research around 2 g per kg. I have more detailed articles on my website where I break down that range, and I always set it individually for clients. Either way, meal count and whether you eat breakfast don't decide it, your daily protein total does. A healthy person doesn't need to fear an overly high protein intake.
Coach: How much protein do clients actually eat when they start, and how do you get them to target without eating food they hate?
Martin: At the start they're often 30-50% below target. You don't need to eat anything new. We take what you like and add protein to every meal: cottage cheese, skyr, eggs, meat, legumes. And we simply make the portion big enough. So not one small yogurt, but a whole tub of cottage cheese, flavored to taste. Not a tiny piece of meat, but say 200 g of meat. Protein at every meal = more fullness = fewer cravings at night = an easier deficit while losing weight and better nutrition for your body and muscles.
Coach: Is protein powder "ultra-processed food" we should fear? How do you handle clients scared of "chemicals"?
Martin: Whey protein powder, for example, is simply milk protein in a low-calorie form. It's not mandatory, it's a helper when you're busy or struggle to eat enough protein from food. If you don't want it, get protein from regular food and you're totally fine. Diet quality depends on your whole menu, your intake of all nutrients and, when losing weight, your average weekly calories, not one scoop of protein. Whey protein is clearly not harmful, on the contrary, it can help many undernourished people raise their protein intake to a "healthier level".
Coach: Which clients managed to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, and what made them different?
Martin: Mostly beginners in the gym and people coming back to training after a break. It's often a client who trains and loses weight, but the scale barely moves or goes slightly up, while measurements drop over the week and body fat is visibly going down. In a man who lifts, measurements normally swing, muscle and glycogen do their thing. That's why we watch the trend, not one number. The difference wasn't genetics. They lifted regularly, ate enough protein and didn't go into an extreme deficit.
Coach: What should people expect after their first diet? Why does the first cut almost never look "like the plan"?
Martin: Because there's often less muscle under the fat than the person imagined. And building a decent muscle base simply takes years, not months. After your first diet you're leaner, but not a "fitness model". That's not a loss or a failure, it's a natural start. The next chapter is building strength and muscle, and only then it starts to look like the "magazine physique".
Coach: Have you coached someone on a weight-loss drug (GLP-1)? What did you have to watch so they didn't lose muscle?
Martin: A few of my clients use GLP-1 and I don't think that's wrong. The drug dampens appetite, which can help keep a deficit long term without "food noise" (constant thoughts about food). The downside can be that it's harder for them to eat enough protein. And if they don't train and don't eat enough protein, they lose not just fat, but also muscle and bone density. That can be a big problem. But it's the same problem for people who don't take GLP-1 and lose weight fast without training and protein. So it applies to everyone. Plenty of people expect me to trash weight-loss drugs. I won't. The drug turns your appetite down. It won't protect your muscle on its own. That's your job. Whether to start the drug and the dosing is always decided by a doctor, not me. It's always teamwork.
Coach: In your experience, what happens when someone stops a weight-loss drug and doesn't change their habits?
Martin: Appetite comes back and old habits come with it. Without strength training, protein and a change in what you eat and how you move, the weight goes back up and you end up "skinny fat". That's why we build habits already during GLP-1 treatment, not after. By the way, people without GLP-1 have the same problem when they lose weight, often very fast, and don't build solid enough habits around eating and movement/sport, and never learn to eat enough protein and train properly.
Coach: How did kids' or partners' habits change when your clients started losing weight?
Martin: For example, one client wrote from vacation that for the first time she wasn't ashamed of herself and her husband keeps taking photos of her. Another client trains with his son. And it brought them really close. From the start, his goal as an older dad was to keep up with his teenage son and be closer to him. And we made that happen too. Kids don't do what we tell them. They do what they see us do. When you start cooking differently and walking, the family often comes along without you having to preach. If you can't find motivation for yourself, find it in others. In the end it will benefit you just as much.
Coach: How do you stay in shape on family vacations with no gym and no time?
Martin: Minimum version. I walk a lot. Protein at every meal and a few short bodyweight workouts when I can. It's not all or nothing. Vacation is there to be enjoyed. If you train all year, you can take a relaxed break on vacation. If you skip it all year, a vacation workout won't save you anyway.
Coach: If you only had 30 seconds with a client, what would you tell them?
Martin: Strength training regularly. Lots of walking. Reasonable calories, enough protein and fiber. Good sleep and hydration.
Coach: What does a completely ordinary day of eating look like that most of your clients lose weight on?
Martin: Boring, and that's exactly why it works. Breakfast with enough protein (if the client likes breakfast, meal count is individual), like eggs or cottage cheese with fruit. Lunch: meat or legumes, a side, veggies. Dinner similar. Snack: skyr or fruit. Amounts based on your calories. No miracles, just sustainability. At first the client finds foods they like that are also high in protein/fiber and reasonable in calories. They combine these foods into meals and snacks. Then we gradually add "food rotation", where every week they bring in new foods and meals, for variety and a better overview of calories and nutrients across a wider range of foods and meals.
Coach: How many daily steps do you ask clients for, and why that number?
Martin: Most of my clients get to at least 8 to 12 thousand, and some do way more! But we always start from their number (what they actually manage right now), not mine, and add gradually so it's sustainable for that client. Steps are a cheap, time-flexible way to burn energy, and they also help regulate stress and lift a bad mood.
Coach: Do clients need to stop snacking to lose weight? Which snacks work for them?
Martin: No. Calories for the whole day matter, not meal count. Snacks with protein and fiber work: skyr, cottage cheese, yogurt, jerky, with some fruit. Or a wholegrain toast with ham/cheese/veggies. They fill you up and keep your energy steady through the day.
Coach: A client ate pizza and cake at a party. What do you text them the next morning?
Martin: "Hope it tasted great and you enjoyed it, buddy! :) It's not all or nothing, we keep going and factor it into the weekly calorie average, so we fine-tune the next days to still roughly hit the weekly calories. If you have time at the weekend, let's add a walk or a trip, maybe a bike ride or a sport you like. No starving, no punishment. The scale may be up for a while from water and food, but we watch the long-term trend." One party won't ruin your progress. "Well, it doesn't matter now anyway, so I'll eat everything" will.
Coach: How is fat loss for clients over 40 different from people in their 20s? What do you do differently?
Martin: The laws of physics are the same, life is different. More work, family, worse sleep, often more stress too. We put more focus on strength training and protein so the client keeps muscle, and we build the plan around a real calendar. Not a theoretical one from the coach. A minimum version for harder weeks and business trips. And above all patience and consistent work. Most older clients have no problem with that at all, their generation is used to the idea that reaching a goal takes effort and staying power.
Coach: Dieter mindset vs athlete mindset: how do you switch a client from chasing the scale to building strength?
Martin: A dieter eats less, fears carbs and chases a number on the scale. An athlete eats for performance, builds muscle and tracks strength. The switch is simple: we track strength performance. Once you see you're lifting more, you stop treating one morning weigh-in as a grade of progress or failure. And when you see you're getting stronger, you often change how you approach food too. It's no longer just eating as little as possible so the scale goes down. It's more like: I eat nutritiously so I keep getting stronger, and I watch portions and ingredients so I get firmer too. The motivation to work on your body overall is often higher then too.
Coach: How many of your clients wanted to "lose a bit first before joining a gym"? What do you tell them?
Martin: A lot. For example, I sent one client a home workout built to lead straight into the gym, so she could train at home and get brave enough for the gym sooner. I tell them: the gym isn't a reward for losing weight, it's a tool to lose weight (for women = firm up) faster and still have nice curves instead of a flat butt. Start simple, a few exercises, light weights, nobody's judging you there. Everyone's busy with themselves. Don't wait until you're "ready". You get ready by simply starting. And for guys it's the same, just in different words.
Coach: How do you pick a good trainer or coach, and how do you spot a bad one?
Martin: A good coach teaches you to fish, he doesn't just sell you fish. You spot a bad one by miracle promises, banned foods, expensive supplements as the foundation and never explaining "why". Ask how they measure progress and what they do when a client stalls. Also look at reviews from their clients, on Facebook, for example, you can see those clients' profiles too - message them and ask what they think of the coach, even a long time after losing weight/working together. That's the best measure of the coach's know-how and real long-term impact on those people.
Coach: Why do you want clients to see muscle as "insurance for old age", and how do you explain it to people who only care about the scale?
Martin: Because one day muscle is what lifts your groceries, your grandkid and you out of a chair. And for those who care about the scale: with more muscle you look better at the same weight, and weight loss is easier to keep with more muscle and training. One thing, two results. I often say: "Muscle is like money, we want to build as much as possible for old age, so there's something to draw from later."
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Be Effective, Martin Barna
Martin Barna
Online nutrition and fitness coach. Since 2013 I have helped 600+ people lose fat and keep the result. Science, not crash diets.
Apply for coachingThis article is for information only. It is not medical advice. If you have a health condition, talk to your doctor.